LCD panel question for garyi & Matthew R.
Posted by: Top Cat on 26 November 2004
Hi guys (or anyone else who knows about these things). I'm planning on getting either a fully-loaded iMac G5 20" OR a PowerMac G5 in the spring - a while away I know - but I have a question which maybe you can help with if you don't mind.
Basically, a friend has bought a 17" iMac G5 and I am very impressed with the screen. However, I'm in that dilemma of thinking 'Powermac versus iMac' - and weighing up the various pros and cons.
My budget is somewhat limited such that I can't really buy a Powermac and a 23" display. However, I'm a resolution whore and I am not entirely sure I'd be happy with the 20" screen on the iMac nor the seemingly identical 20" display.
A while back, Matthew, you waxed lyrical about the current offerings in or around the 20" size category.
What I am spending ages trying to ask is whether it is possible to at least match the quality of the Apple panels at a lower price with a higher resolution.
I'm hoping for a system with a 20"-ish screen - something in the 1600x1200 res ballpark - but having seen the Apple panels, I'm not so sure I want anything less than that sort of quality and brightness.
Despite my yearning for the big resolutions, the iMac G5 is *VERY* tempting as it's (a) cheaper, and (b) very chic (WAF => easier to get past SWMBO)
Any thoughts?
My off-the-cuff specs would be:
Powermac G5/1.8 single (or maybe 1.8 dual - budget depending), 2Gb RAM, 250Gb HDD;
or the iMac specced up to the same level - 2Gb being its max memory.
Thanks, guys,
John
Basically, a friend has bought a 17" iMac G5 and I am very impressed with the screen. However, I'm in that dilemma of thinking 'Powermac versus iMac' - and weighing up the various pros and cons.
My budget is somewhat limited such that I can't really buy a Powermac and a 23" display. However, I'm a resolution whore and I am not entirely sure I'd be happy with the 20" screen on the iMac nor the seemingly identical 20" display.
A while back, Matthew, you waxed lyrical about the current offerings in or around the 20" size category.
What I am spending ages trying to ask is whether it is possible to at least match the quality of the Apple panels at a lower price with a higher resolution.
I'm hoping for a system with a 20"-ish screen - something in the 1600x1200 res ballpark - but having seen the Apple panels, I'm not so sure I want anything less than that sort of quality and brightness.
Despite my yearning for the big resolutions, the iMac G5 is *VERY* tempting as it's (a) cheaper, and (b) very chic (WAF => easier to get past SWMBO)
Any thoughts?
My off-the-cuff specs would be:
Powermac G5/1.8 single (or maybe 1.8 dual - budget depending), 2Gb RAM, 250Gb HDD;
or the iMac specced up to the same level - 2Gb being its max memory.
Thanks, guys,
John
My only contribution would be regarding the machine itself John.
The screen thing is a difficult one, none the least of which is just how many screens out there actually have a better resolution, my understanding was you were basically stuck with the physical size of the LCD pixel, but I am no expert, Mat seems to have the low down on this better than I.
As for the machine, well, this is very much like naim, i.e. will you be satisfied, there is really not a massive amount of upgradability in the imac range, you can put extra memory in but thats about it really.
The power mac will offer you more possibilities for that yearning all men feel inside! Whats more its got more room to breath, as silly as it sounds I wonder just how much restriction has been put on the new imac because of that tiny enclosure, the G5 chip basically gets f**king hot, they even had to resort to liquid cooling for the 2.5 gig model, hardly new wave options here! And without a G5 powerbook on the horizon, I think they will have strangled the chip a bit on the imac. This is just speculation mind you, but it was the same with the G4 imacs, the powermac range even on similar spec felt twice as fast.
If I were you today I would purchase a duel 1.8 gig power mac, these come it a thoroughly reasonable price and do have that room to breath, you can put 8 gigs of ram in it as well if you want!
The imac is a tempting beast, but the separate screen is no turn off either:
I believe the 20 inch offers a fair amount of real estate, however there are other choices for different configurations I think NEC Multisync are supposed to be good its not cinema display but the more traditional size. they come in a bit cheaper but not a lot cheaper.
I looked critically at some screens in PC world the other day, all I will say is this do not cheap out in this area, the temptation will be there but ultimately I have not seen better than the apple screens to date, The sony ones are lovely but they do not have the viewing angle of the macs, seriously you can still see the mac ones from a far greater angle.
I may be wrong but even though the screen looks the same on the 20 inch, I don't believe its as good as the stand alone model.
As usual it comes down to you John, I am pleased you have enjoyed your mac experience thus far. I have used macs since the Mac Plus days and simply love them (Hence my advice should probably be taken in that vein!)
The screen thing is a difficult one, none the least of which is just how many screens out there actually have a better resolution, my understanding was you were basically stuck with the physical size of the LCD pixel, but I am no expert, Mat seems to have the low down on this better than I.
As for the machine, well, this is very much like naim, i.e. will you be satisfied, there is really not a massive amount of upgradability in the imac range, you can put extra memory in but thats about it really.
The power mac will offer you more possibilities for that yearning all men feel inside! Whats more its got more room to breath, as silly as it sounds I wonder just how much restriction has been put on the new imac because of that tiny enclosure, the G5 chip basically gets f**king hot, they even had to resort to liquid cooling for the 2.5 gig model, hardly new wave options here! And without a G5 powerbook on the horizon, I think they will have strangled the chip a bit on the imac. This is just speculation mind you, but it was the same with the G4 imacs, the powermac range even on similar spec felt twice as fast.
If I were you today I would purchase a duel 1.8 gig power mac, these come it a thoroughly reasonable price and do have that room to breath, you can put 8 gigs of ram in it as well if you want!
The imac is a tempting beast, but the separate screen is no turn off either:
I believe the 20 inch offers a fair amount of real estate, however there are other choices for different configurations I think NEC Multisync are supposed to be good its not cinema display but the more traditional size. they come in a bit cheaper but not a lot cheaper.
I looked critically at some screens in PC world the other day, all I will say is this do not cheap out in this area, the temptation will be there but ultimately I have not seen better than the apple screens to date, The sony ones are lovely but they do not have the viewing angle of the macs, seriously you can still see the mac ones from a far greater angle.
I may be wrong but even though the screen looks the same on the 20 inch, I don't believe its as good as the stand alone model.
As usual it comes down to you John, I am pleased you have enjoyed your mac experience thus far. I have used macs since the Mac Plus days and simply love them (Hence my advice should probably be taken in that vein!)
Probably worth mentioning that resolution on its own is pure bollocks -- it has to be expressed relative to size.
LCDs often fail IMHO in terms of usefullness because in their efforts to boast huge resolutions, the pixels (and therefore the text on the screen) are too small, so you end up sitting very close to your paper-thin monitor, and the space you have saved ends up behind the screen where only dusty cables can use it. I've seen this time and again where people have rushed into becoming monitor fashion victims.
I completely agree with Matthew's viewpoint, but would also point out that there are some very good LCDs around which get the equation right IMHO. about 400 quid should get you a LaCie Photon 19 (1280 x 1024 on 19"), which is lovely thing to work with, has great colour and loves G5s. You can add a cantilever arm and desk clamp to this, so you get to use the space over which the monitor floats, and the bexel is very slim, so they pair up nicely when you get another one (your G5 will run two at once with the standard graphics card).
It also pairs well with a 22" Mitsubishi-based CRT, as visible area and res are just about identical (regrettably not mine!):
LCDs often fail IMHO in terms of usefullness because in their efforts to boast huge resolutions, the pixels (and therefore the text on the screen) are too small, so you end up sitting very close to your paper-thin monitor, and the space you have saved ends up behind the screen where only dusty cables can use it. I've seen this time and again where people have rushed into becoming monitor fashion victims.
I completely agree with Matthew's viewpoint, but would also point out that there are some very good LCDs around which get the equation right IMHO. about 400 quid should get you a LaCie Photon 19 (1280 x 1024 on 19"), which is lovely thing to work with, has great colour and loves G5s. You can add a cantilever arm and desk clamp to this, so you get to use the space over which the monitor floats, and the bexel is very slim, so they pair up nicely when you get another one (your G5 will run two at once with the standard graphics card).
It also pairs well with a 22" Mitsubishi-based CRT, as visible area and res are just about identical (regrettably not mine!):